A Helping Hand
by thepandathatrawrs
Summary: She was becoming a helping hand to him listening to anything that would be bugging him. But always after he talks to her, he would thank her for being a good friend. She wonders if that is all she is to him, while she might want to be something more?


She was reading quietly, occasionally taking sips of her herbal tea near the large window, which held a rather depressing view with the heavy dark clouds and forceful rain. _Just right for the rainy weather_, she thought. Then again, herbal tea was always right for any weather.

"Anything interesting that you're reading?"

She did not acknowledge his presence, and remained calm, as if nobody spoke to her. Sipping in more tea, she continued to read on as the wind howled outside.

"The book can't be more interesting than talking to me."

She sighed, tucking in a stray strand of violet hair behind her ear. "You'll be surprised." She answered dryly, not taking her eyes off the book. Outside, the rain fell furiously, pattering against the window hard.

He knew that she wasn't looking at him, yet he couldn't help but flash her one of his lopsided grins. Beast Boy joined Robin, and saw that Raven was not even looking at them. Chuckling quietly, the green changeling started making faces at her back.

"I can see your reflection, you know."

Beast Boy stopped abruptly at her bored tone and grinned nervously. "Well, um… Cyborg and I are going outside." He glanced at Robin and Raven. "Wanna join?"

"Yeah, sure."

"No."

Beast Boy looked at her helplessly. "Oh, c'mon, why don't you want to?"

"Why would I want to?"

He whined. "Raven."

"Beast Boy."

Robin spoke up. "Give us three reasons why you don't want to go."

She shut the book and gave them an irritated 'do-I-look-like-I-have-time-for-this?' look. "One," she put up one slender finger. "It's raining outside. Hard."

As if to prove her point, lightning flashed and crackled. "Two," another finger went up. "I want to finish this book." The black covered book was shoved into Robin's, then Beast Boy's face.

"Three," now three pale fingers were up in total. "I don't want to go out."

The sorceress gave them a sharp final look. Admitting silent defeat, Beast Boy hung his head, much like a dog in disgrace, and dragged Robin with him towards the door. Before they could reach it however, they had to quickly get out of the way as the door was suddenly flung open. The boys stood up, rubbing their arms, while getting ready to start shouting at the person. Then, they froze. Raven finally looked up from her book, and Cyborg came out of his room, swinging his T-car keys around. He too, looked at the source of the commotion, and let out a low whistle.

There standing was Starfire, a beautiful alien girl, in a shimmering dark purple evening gown that clung to the curves of her body. A pale pink shawl was draped around her shoulders gracefully, and there were faint touches of make up on her face, making her striking features stand out. She gave them a dazzling smile, and floated to the boys.

"Wow." Robin finally said, and Beast Boy nodded dumbly. Raven looked away disgusted. Not disgusted of Starfire, but at the typical reaction from boys. Pushing away any strong emotions before she blew something up, she went back into the depths of the book.

"I look formal, do I not?" She asked Robin, and he smiled warmly at her.

"Yes, you do. Not to mention extremely nice."

_I think I__'__m going to hurl._ Raven thought, concealing a grimace. _I need to get to my room, so that I can finish this book in peace._ She stood up quietly and made a motion to move before a curious question entered her mind.

"Who's the lucky guy you're going on a date with, Starfire?" She asked, faint traces of curiosity laced within her usual monotone voice. When all heads turned to her, she gave them a careless shrug. "Just wondering." She muttered under her breath, rolling her large eyes.

"It is Aqualad." A blush crept onto her tanned cheeks as silence filled the room. Raven quickly scanned the Titans' faces. Beast Boy looked dumbfounded, while Starfire was slowly turning into a tomato in a gorgeous dress. Cyborg did not look very surprised, and Robin-

She honestly could not tell what Robin was feeling. His expression was stiff, and his voice was carefully guarded as he finally broke the silence.

"He asked you on a date?"

Her green eyes looked worried, but she spoke determinedly. "Yes, is it so wrong of me to accept?"

Before he could comment back, Raven snapped. "Didn't you three want to go out somewhere?" She asked, giving them pointed looks. Beast Boy mumbled something about "watching something good on TV", while Cyborg yawned, saying that he'd rather stay in since it was raining. Robin ignored her, not breaking off eye contact with Starfire.

The doorbell finally buzzed, and Starfire looked extremely relieved. "Please wish me all of the good luck." She stammered, and rushed out, her shawl fluttering behind her. Robin sighed, and slumped upon the couch.

_They broke up a month __ago;__ of course Robin still has some lingering feelings towards her!_ A voice inside that sounded suspiciously like Knowledge told her. But instead of leaving for her room as she intended, she floated cautiously to Robin's slumped figure.

"Robin?"

Her voice had startled their leader; her voice had even startled herself, as it came out gentle and kind. She rested a cool hand on his shoulder. "Are you… okay?"

She mentally slapped herself, but her face was composed, nevertheless. He suddenly faced her, the masked face bearing into her violet eyes. Raven suddenly realized how close their faces were, flushed. However, Robin did not notice, and replied to her question. "Yeah, just have to get used to her and… well, you know."

Finally realizing the small distance between their faces, he turned red, and leaned back to his seat, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Um… that's good, I'll go to my room now."

She flew to her dark room, closing the metal doors behind her. Why was she so flustered just now?

Her face scowled at the thought. _Probably it was too warm in the room._ Reassured with the thought, she used her magic to move a comfortable chair towards the moonlit window. The rain had stopped, and the moon was out. There, she started reading her book in peace.


End file.
